UC Collusion?

<p>I applied to UCSD, UCI, and Cal, and was rejected outright by Cal. I have more Bs than I am happy with, but I was still shocked to be rejected. I thought at the very worst I would be admitted for the spring semester. Anyway, I know of many people like myself with very attractive statistics (SAT 2230 (M+V 1520), GPA 4.1, 11 APs, etc) that were rejected from cal outright but seemingly embraced by other UCs. I know Cal is the top dog, but some people have suggested to me that perhaps the UCs have some sort of collusion, and forcibly spread top tier applicants around the UC system so Cal doesnt get them all. Is there any validity to this? I may just be trying to justify this horrible let down, but it would be nice to know that I wasnt totally out of the running for berkeley. Also, are there definitive appeals statistics? I got a 4.8 seventh semester that should help me a bit, but it sounds like everyone and their grandma is appealing.</p>

<p>can i ask why you didnt apply to ucla</p>

<p>I didnt apply to UCLA only because I live less than 8 miles from it, and spend way too much time in westwood as it is. If I lived anywhere else, I would have applied.</p>

<p>i believe Cal is very sensitive to grades.</p>

<p>"i believe Cal is very sensitive to grades."</p>

<p>I agree and disagree with this. I got into Cal with 4.0 weighted. Yes, not very impressive. But I believe that my GPA trend helped. I had 3.5 weighted sophomore year and 4.57 weighted junior year.</p>

<p>i understand that, but I also took every single AP offered by my school. I go to a small private school, and my sister goes to a huge public one. All kinds of kids from hers (john marhsall) graduate with ridiculous GPAs in the 4.7 4.8 range, with SATs around 1900 and go straight to Cal. At my school, its not that easy to get straight As when you are taking 4 APs. I have also done a lot of work at cedars sinai, doing clinical trails and the like, which I have been published for. In fact, that was the topic of my personal statement in a sense. My counselor at my school is flabbergasted, because even with a sort of subpar GPA, I have everything else in spades.</p>

<p>Maybe too many high GPA kids from your school ruined your chance.</p>

<p>Remember, UC only counts 8 semester of Honor/AP Classes into GPA calculation. </p>

<p>By the way, the chance for appeal is really small. But if CAL is your first choice, definitely ask help from your GC. Last year, a girl at my school won the appeal, and she doesn't have stellar stats. </p>

<p>Best luck.</p>

<p>I don't have definitive evidence to back up this statement, but from what I hear, Cal doesn't place as much a premium on SAT I scores as it does on GPA, SAT II scores, & essay. It was probably your GPA that hurt your chances--if you took 11 AP's, they would expect your GPA to be much higher than 4.1.</p>

<p>I was accepted to Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UCI, UCSD with less than stellar SAT (less than 2000) and SAT II's (less than 630.) I don't test well on timed tests. I am in a full IB program and have minimal AP's because of that (I think 5 total) and my GPA is a 4.3. I think my essay's and EC's got me in to the UC's.</p>

<p>what else did you have besides the grades/SAT scores (which all seem fine for Cal's standard)</p>

<p>I have been published in several medical journals for the work I do at a local medical center. I have worked on many high level clinical trials, done a lot of service in poorer communities in LA, and have wanted to go to Cal since i was in middle school</p>

<p>sat scores and gpa are not everything
im an ASAIN MALE (almost a majority at the UC's)
2090 sats 3.4 uw 3.9W
i got into cal but not ucla</p>

<p>Admissions have been really quirky this year. I know some idiots who made both LA and Berkeley and one of my friends made Berkeley but was rejected by LA and USC.</p>

<p>yeah i must agree...it seems to be such a luck thing. i was blessed to get into both la/cal...b/c a lot of people who had better stats than i did didn't. =/</p>

<p>Yup, I've been hearing crazy things too--some people who got in from my school to cal who I never expected, and some people who should have, but didn't...but I guess admissions officers really can't KNOW each person 100%...if you think about it, if you were an admissions officer, and all you have is an application with some stats on it, maybe a couple essays, you don't ever really KNOW the person...that's why there's probably some stories of "I should have gotten in but I didn't" or "how did HE/SHE get in?"</p>

<p>its not all about stats kid</p>

<p>
[quoteI have been published in several medical journals for the work I do at a local medical center.
[/quote]
</p>

<p>That is pretty damned impressive for an 18-ish year old who's not even in college yet.</p>

<p>What major did you apply for?</p>

<p>I applied for undecided/l&s</p>

<p>My counselor has said that she wholeheartedly believes that a mistake has been made, and she has emailed her contact at call. cross your fingers for me.</p>

<p>three kids at my school, one with moderately better stats, one a little below me, and one pretty far below me, but he is hispanic (cal, georgetown, harvard with less than a 1900), and none of them plan to go. hopefully this all gets cleared up.</p>

<p>Id say my medical research and publication are my strongest point, which I think is impressive enough to warrent trying to look at other parts of my application that are perhaps lacking. I understand that it isnt all about stats.</p>